MERCY TEACHERS' COLLEGE (FORMER)

The land on which Mercy Teachers' College stands has local importance as for being the site of one of the area's earliest mansions, 'Bellvue' established by Captain William Buckley in the 1840s. The site is more significant for its associations with successful brewer, Robert McCracken, who renamed the mansion 'Ailsa' when he purchased the thirteen acre property in 1865. A keen promoter of Australian Rules Football, Robert was the first president of the Essendon Football Club, which was formed at Ailsa in 1871, with McCracken's Paddock being the Club's first playing field. (Criterion A)

The surrounding houses reflect periods when the property was subdivided in 1907 and 1933, with street names perpetuating the memory of the McCracken ownership. The former coachman's quarters standing within the grounds of the college is historically significant as the only building to remain from the McCracken ownership 1865-1907. Elms on the Mt Alexander Road boundary may be remnants of the estate's extensive gardens. (Criteria A, C & G)

The original Mercy Teachers' College building of 1909 is historically significant for its association with the establishment of the first Catholic teacher training facility in the State, following the introduction of the Victorian Registration of Teachers and Schools Act in 1905, requiring secular and non-secular schools to meet strict government standards. ( Criteria A, C & G)

The Mercy Convent of 1909 is of architectural significance as a local landmark and as a reasonably intact convent building designed in an adapted gothic style. (Criteria D & G) The Mercy Teacher's College including the 1909 Convent, 1957 dormitory and library and 1965 and 1970s additions are of historic and architectural interest for their capacity to demonstrate the site's development between 1909 & 2000. (Criteria A, D & G)

Group

Education

Category

School - Private